donderdag 19 april 2012

8. How I discovered myself as a new born Taoist at the Tombon di San Marco!

Can you imagine I didn't even notice I was eating in front of an old canal?

A couple of
months ago – before I knew that I wanted to become a Milanese – I was quite
busy becoming a Taoist. I had figured out that life was a bit too hectic and
stressful for me and therefore I was looking for a successful
“escape-from-stress-strategy”. I found a book, written by a certain Theo Fischer,
with the promising title “The art of doing nothing” and started reading. Fischer
explained that a Taoist lives purely in the present, without desires, worries
or stress. A Taoist goes with the flow of life and never shows any resistance. He
pays full concentration to whatever he is doing and doesn’t expect anything
from life which is precisely why he gets so much back from it. Those who wanted
to adopt this philosophy of living themselves, had to learn first of all to
observe their own everyday life with hundred percent, undivided attention. This
sounds easy but actually it’s extremely difficult. You’ll understand what I
mean by trying to answer some of Fischer’s questions. “How did the girl at the
cash register at the supermarket looked like yesterday? What’s the colour of
her eyes? Was she wearing any jewelry or nothing at all?” Most of the time, we
just run through life and absorb almost nothing of what is really happening
around us. Trying to change this, isn’t a piece of cake. Believe me, I tried to
do so for weeks without any result.

Until I
decided to become a Milanese. Now, I walk through streets of Milan which I have
walked a thousand times before and suddenly I discover the most odd and
impressive details I have never noticed before. Like an old canal lock for
instance! At 500 meters from my door step and with a little terrace in front of
it where I even have eaten a tasty salad some months ago! The thing is called Il
Tombon di San Marco and lies in some kind of ditch without a drop of water. I
look at the lock’s big wooden doors and wonder how on earth it’s possible that
I have been eating here without seeing this giant curious thing! Fischer is
right. Most people really are
zombies. Ex-zombie Stevens can confirm this! Luckily, I have a Milanese To-Do
list which can only be executed while keeping your eyes as widely open as the
doors of the Tombon. And not only your eyes! Your imagination as well! Because
how would I otherwise be able to fulfill my 8th Milano task and travel back in
time to see how this city used to look like a little Venice? With lots of
canals and lockkeepers who regulated the water level of the city by handling
the doors of the Tombon? Two months ago, I declared to anyone who was willing
to listen that Milan was about the most boring city of Italy and that there was
absolutely nothing to see. Now that I finally managed to get my eyes open and
started observing attentively like Fischer had asked me to, I actually discover
one treasury after another. Makes you think, doesn’t it? Sometimes in life you
can only reach destination A by walking determinedly to destination B. And sometimes
you can only become a Taoist after giving up on this idea and decide you’d
rather become a Milanese.

2 opmerkingen:

Since reading this I've been trying to become a Milanese so that I can live more in the present through this shortcut to becoming a Taoist. It isn't working. Perhaps (or in Italian "force") it is because you need to be in Milan to become Milanese?

Yes, that's an important, technical detail of course... I almost solved the problem for you in suggesting you would become a Minnesotan instead, but that won't work either. Because you ARE one already. So I'm sorry, Doug. You'll have to move here. As you could read in the blogpost on the Salone, I still have a bathtub-guestroom to offer you if you want!

About me

I am a Belgian Master in Gastronomy and I organize cultural and culinary trips and tours in Piedmont. Whether you're looking for someone to give you a general tour in Turin or whether you would love to visit a coffee roastery or winery or just take an Italian cooking class, I can organize it for you. Just contact me and let me know what it is you're looking for and how I can help to make your trip to Piedmont unforgettable!